More Links

Bucknell Names Tri-Captains for 2011

from press release

LEWISBURG, Pa. – Bucknell men's lacrosse
coached Frank Fedorjaka has announced the election of seniors Jake
Clarke (Cos Cob, Conn./Greenwich), John Collett (Randolph,
N.J./Delbarton) and Ryan Klipstein (Califon, N.J./Rutgers Prep) as
team captains for the 2011 season. All three are returning starters
for a Bison squad that was ranked 20th nationally in Inside
Lacrosse's preseason poll.

"Each captain brings a little something different to the table,
but they all have excellent leadership qualities," said Fedorjaka.
"Together, they provide exactly what we need both on and off the
field."

One of the nation's top faceoff men and short-stick defensive
midfielders, Clarke was one of two Bison named to the Inside
Lacrosse Preseason All-America team (junior Charlie Streep is the
other). With a year left to play, Clarke is already Bucknell's
career leader in ground balls (192) and faceoff percentage (.595).
Last season he set a school record by winning 61.7 percent of his
faceoffs, the second-best mark in all of Division I lacrosse.

A First Team All-Patriot League selection in both 2009 and 2010,
Clarke broke the school record with 98 ground balls as a sophomore,
and then he had 83 more in 12 games last year to ranks fourth in
the nation in that category.

"Jake Clarke is a guy who is extremely committed from a physical
fitness standpoint," said Fedorjaka. "There is no way anybody could
work harder than Jake. He has taken on a leadership role on the
team, and he is also playing his best lacrosse entering his senior
year."

Collett will be a starting close defenseman for the third
straight year in 2011. An outstanding cover man who is also very
strong on clears, Collett was a big part of a Bucknell defense that
ranked third in the nation in goals-against (7.93) a year ago.

"John is one of those outstanding players who leads by example,"
said Fedorjaka. "He is extremely coachable, humble and
hard-working. He just has outstanding character. He is in terrific
physical condition and brings a level of toughness to the
defense."

Klipstein is coming off a breakout offensive season in 2010,
when he scored 34 goals en route to First Team All-Patriot League
honors. The 34 goals were second-most in the Patriot League and
15th-most in the nation, and the total was the highest ever by a
Bison midfielder. Klipstein tied the Bucknell and Patriot League
records with an eight-goal game against Lafayette, and he is
expected to be a big part of the team's offense again in 2011.

"Ryan is a very cerebral player," said Fedorjaka. "He rarely
makes a mental mistake, so as a captain he can hold his teammates
accountable for their decisions. He practices very hard, he has a
great rapport with the coaches and he is a playmaker on the
field."

Collett and Klipstein were co-recipients of the 2010 Patriot
League Sportsmanship Award, recognizing their creation of the "A
Bison Never Forgets" program, which is set up to raise funds to
send care packages to former college lacrosse players now serving
overseas in the armed forces.

The Bison head to Charlottesville, Va., this weekend to
scrimmage Virginia and Georgetown, and then the team opens up the
2011 regular season at home against Canisius on Feb. 19.